Page 24

But it felt as though, just moments ago, he had been somewhere else. Somewhere warm. Was he dreaming?

If he was, it surely was a strangely vivid dream. He was floating in a dark void while whispers and warm currents of air assaulted him from all directions. What’s worse, those warm currents would occasionally turn into warm fingers, stroking his bare skin.

Yes, bare. Because he was naked.

Levitating naked in a black hole while some perverse ghost felt up his body.

Iconic.

As Evan cringed through his post-dreaming gloom, something grazed his feet, and he jerked upright into a sitting position. He threw off the covers only to discover Misty curled between his legs. Two golden eyes blinked at him.

A breath rushed out of him as Evan flopped back on the bed, groaning against the aches in various parts of his body. It felt like he’d wrestled a dozen men, blindfolded with his hands bound.

How was he in bed? What had happened to him?

Draping an arm over his eyes, Evan searched his hazy memory but could only recall heat. Scorching heat. The scent of burning wood and…damp earth?

Confusion clouded his senses as he sat up again. Misty padded up his leg, stretching across his lap before curling there into a fur ball. Strangely, her ever-soothing purring was not working on Evan at all.

Everything was blurry in his head. Probably because of the morning…eveninghaze. But he didn’t remember the last time he’d been so disoriented after an exorcism.

Just as Evan was about to fall back into bed, something clattered outside his room. Specifically, outside the front door. Reflexively, his ears shifted into high alert, his brain fully awake now.

If it was Tiago or his men, they’d just barge in, and Evan rarely got visitors from town, at least not after sunset. They said it wasdangerousvisiting an exorcist’s home after dusk. Evan had no idea what they thought an exorcist would be doing in the evening, but it was definitely not what they were imagining.

Stepping down from the bed, Evan kissed the top of Misty’s head. “Stay here.”

The rustling continued as he exited his bedroom and closed in on the front door. Tiptoeing his way forward, Evan leaned in, pushing his overgrown bangs away to peek through the peephole.

Click.

The door swung open.

Evan’s eyes widened as the hardwood rushed towards his face, aiming straight for his perfect nose—

Suddenly, his feet lifted off the ground.

He floated a few inches up into the air as if an invisible hand had grabbed him by the back of his t-shirt and tugged him back.

Like a puppy plucked up by the scruff, he was dropped a safe distance away from the door.

Evan stumbled into the nearest wall. Blinked. Completely dumbfounded.

Huh?

Aaron’s frowning face emerged through the door. As soon as he spotted Evan plastered to the wall like a fly, he grinned.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

With his mouth agape and eyes wide as saucers, Evan was almost comical to look at. His body was frozen against the wall like a lizard who’d just lost his tail.

Something…had just grabbed him.

Had he stumbled on his own? Had he gone dizzy?

No. He waspulledback.

Evan gingerly turned his head, sweeping a quick glance around the house. No shadows or spirits hovered around him. Not even a trace of spiritual energy in the air. Not unusual.